Encouragement and Thanksgiving

We went to liturgy this morning... 

Tomorrow is my husband and I's 4th wedding anniversary!

I hope to write more about this later, but for now, 

these two things:

This happened today:

"The Lord always blesses me for our anniversary + St Phanourios celebration! 

This year I ordered 2 fillets of salmon as we are unable to have a full Slava this year.

 Only one of the fillets was in the package! Ack!!! I was going to prep them today. ... 

called our grocer immediately and the person could see 

that the mistake was indeed made. 

They not only are they crediting the cost, t

hey are giving us an additional credit and 2 new fillets tomorrow! 

What a blessing! Thanks be to God!"

***

And a bit more from my latest essay, for your encouragement:

"Elizabeth Goudge also speaks of what faith, in such moments, can look like. She describes, in The Middle Window, a man fighting in the highlands of Scotland, who nearly died before a kindly couple took him in, nursing him back to consciousness and health. He, having thought his life over, now had to come back to life, and realizes what troubled him most is his loss of faith. It is then that he realizes, “[f]lames may die down but nothing could rob one of the ashes” and that, perhaps, “he was, for the first time in his life, actually experiencing faith. This fighting with no certainty that there was anything to fight for, this going out into the night with no belief that dawn would ever come, was…the real thing…”(Goudge, 200-201)5."

Read the rest here.

Some Special Christmas Moments

I wanted to write down some moments from this Christmas,

so I do not forget them as quickly and can be thankful for them.

***

~at our first (of two at home) Christmas dinner(s), we had the Christmas Crackers which the

Munchkin had never seen.

We pulled them apart, two people with one Cracker and whoever

was left with the Cracker itself, and not just the one loose end,

'won'... my favourite part though was when 

the Munchkin,

with his paper crown on his head,

said, to effect,

I am king of [country], no, I am the emperor of all of China, 

the king of the world! 

with all the joy of a 7 year old...

~I got to show him the CD of a copy of the record I listened to as a child,

which he loved...that first song with the flourishing beginning is enough

to excite any child

~his love of his special shirt and Mr. Husband's praise of me

for thinking of it, while he went out and bought it

~his reading of 'how does a dinosaur get well soon?' after

opening it, sitting next to me on the couch

~getting his fun big kids dictionary and saying that we 

are all nerds, because we love learning

~the Russian cookies we were given, just the ones

I used to eat at my Ukrainian family's kitchen table, along

with the gift of the sipping chocolate that Trader Joe's only sells 

around the Christmas time

~Remembering Mr Husband's house before we were married

(he had lots of toy soldiers on display!) 

~Mr. Husband being so relaxed and happy with our

NJ family

***

~The Happy Christmas Night (4th night) when we looked at the 

beautiful Toy Solider book and talking about history and how beautiful the 

miniatures are

***

~Spending time with church family and getting time to sit down and talk

***

~birthday and Christmas in succession...
I did not even blog that it was my birthday this year,
was just too busy, and that day
we were leaving from our vacation spot to go
to Mr Husband's parents house
and stopped at a fabric and quilt store which
was a lovely birthday diversion, with two bags purchased for my
birthday and some fabric!
... so later I got the sweetest 3 cloth napkins from my Mom.
a book, journal, a quilter's gift and a book of knitting reflections
and a lot of love (and a cute card from Cleo!) all in the mail
and beautifully wrapped
... and then another friend surprised me with a beautiful
tea cup in our Christmas gift for my birthday,
it was so kind of them.

***

This year Mr. Husband gave me 4 buffet sets of
Christmas Tree Spode
(I found them on etsy at a great price!!)
and 6 butter plates, also found on etsy for
a very good price.

It has been such a joy to use these pieces and every night
wash them by hand, to be put back on the table
the next morning.

***

Our 9 person Christmas party was enjoyed by all,
and the beef roast turned out just right,
and it was lovely.

***

The many moments of just sitting by Mr Husband,
sipping tea and enjoying a new Christmas treat....

Planning for Nativity in 2014

This year Thanksgiving and Western Christmas

are close together and I can see that this 

Nativity Season is going to be very full!

*

My now annual Christmas Nativity Fast and Feast

planning is in it's second year.

Here's what I came up with...

November 27: Thanksgiving Day ~ go to prayers or liturgy for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving meal with friends and church family.

November 28: Fast begins! Make a joyful fasting meal to celebrate! Locate Christmas decorations.

November 29: order a Christmas ornament for our Christmas tree.  Find lights to put up in our kitchen and living room.

November 30: Sunday Liturgy.  

Begin reading Christmas book with Mr. Husband.

December 1 : This year I need to find an artificial Christmas tree for our home.

I am quite excited about this! 

Put out first of Christmas icons (the one of Christ).

December 2 : Change coffee table to Christmas Colours. 

December 3: Work on St. Nicholas Gifts.

December 4 ~ Thursday: Entry of the Most Holy Mother of God ~ Go to liturgy.  Remember my Oma and 

do something in her name for another person.  Fish day!

December 5: Put out two Nativity Icons.  Put up Christmas tree!

December 6: Prepare for St. Katherine’s Day (meal, find prayers, clean icon).

December 7: Sunday Liturgy ~ St. Katherine’s Day ~ honour her icon, 

light candles by it and pray for those esp with her name.  

Pray prayers to her.  

Make a special meal in her honour.  Fish Day! 

*

December 8: Christmas Knitting for tree ornaments done today. Put out Christmas plate and other decorations.  If we have our extra freezer by now in our new home, begin baking St. Nicholas Day cookies to 

carefully freeze for St. Nicolas Day. If do not have a freezer yet then

look at plans for December 16 and switch out activities (shopping) to this day.

December 9: Work on St. Nicholas and Christmas gifts, plan and shop for special meal for Kursk Root Icon.   Prepare and wrap gifts for friends and family.  

Start praying parts of Akathist for this icon in the evening.

December 10: Kursk Root Icon ~ Special meal for Kursk Root Icon and remembering the healing of St. Seraphim as a child. 

Plan, prepare and shop for Holy Supper and Christmas.

December 11:  Work more on Christmas gift plans.

 St. Nicholas Cookies baking continued DV with freezer ready.

December 12:  Christmas Gift shopping for the short people in our lives. 

Put wrapped gifts under Christmas tree.

December 13: Put out the Nativity Books.

December 14:  Sunday Liturgy

*

December 15: Plan special meal for St. Nicholas Day Dinner. Begin listening to Christmas music.   Bake for St. Nicholas Day.

December 16: Do grocery shopping for St. Barbara's Day, St. Nicholas Day, the Holy Supper and Christmas or bake St. Nicholas Day cookies. 

Best to do the last minute grocery Shopping for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day early! Buy a special wine for Holy Supper and the Christmas Season.

December 17: Great Martyr Barbara ~ put out icon of St. Barbara and pray for those with her name.  Read Chesterton's poem on St. Barbara.  

Bake Saint Nicholas Cookies and prepare treats for shoes. 

Have a special dinner for St. Barbara.  

This year St. Barbara's day corresponds 

with Mr. Husband's 

work's holiday party so we will have 

a festive lunch instead.

December 18: St. Nicholas Eve ~ Finish Preparing for St. Nicolas Day ~ if possible go to vigil for St. Nicolas Day 

or pray the Akathist to St. Nicholas, put out St. Nicholas Icon

December 19: Saint Nicholas Day ~ Go to liturgy and give out goodies ~ Sister’s Birthday

December 20: Begin listening to Christmas music and 

put out coffee table sized Christmas Tree.

December 21: Sunday Liturgy

December 22:  Christmas preparations and planning; plan for birthdays and names days in near future.  Prepare to make Christmas tea.

December 23: Special Baking and Knitting. Look at meal plan for Holy Supper on Christmas Eve, make list of what I will need

 in terms of last minute groceries & look at plans made on Dec. 16.

December 24: Special Baking and Knitting.  Planning special meal for St. Herman’s Day.

December 25: Saint Spyridon and Saint Herman ~ honour these Saints, put out their icons, pray special prayers to them.  Read books on these Saints.  

December 26: St. Lucia ~ Search for icon for her for next year and research books on her.

December 27: Have time spent with ones dear to us, Special baking.

December 28: Sunday Liturgy.  Have time spent with ones dear to us, remembering to pray for those who are far.

December 29: My Birthday ~ special meal with loved ones near by.

December 30: Mr. Husband’s Name Day ~ special meal planned.

December 31: Enjoy civil holiday with Mr. Husband either at home or at a monastery.  If home make special Lenten food.

January 1:  New Years Day.  If possible be at a monastery.  If not then spend special time with Mr. Husband and others; have a special meal. 

Do prayers of Thanksgiving for the new year (on the civil calendar).

January 2: St. John of Kronstadt’s Day ~ Honour his icon, do prayers to him, read his book.  Plan Christmas Dinner for Second Day of Christmas.

January 3: Review list for Holy Supper! Enjoy the anticipation. 

January 4: Sunday before Nativity.

*

January 5: Pack things for Holy Supper including special table cloth, candles and candle holder. Print prayers for Holy Supper.  Bake. 

Prepare borsht for the Holy Supper.

January 6: Prepare Holy Supper ~ table cloth, candles and meal.  

Have Holy Supper and Christmas Eve Vigil.  

January 7: Christmas! Spent at church and with special friends. 

January 8: Second Day of Christmas. 

Special dinner and opening gifts if not opened on Christmas night. 

Bake special Christmas cookies for this season to pass out to friends.

January 9: Third Day of Christmas. St. Stephen's day. Have a special Christmas Dinner with friends.

January 10: Fourth Day of Christmas. 

January 11: Sunday ~ Fifth Day of Christmas.  Church Christmas party!

*

January 12: Sixth Day of Christmas. 

January 13: Seventh Day of Christmas.

January 14: Eighth Day of Christmas.  Circumcision of Christ and St. Basil’s Day ~ make cake for St. Basil and a special meal.

January 15: Ninth Day of Christmas. St. Seraphim's Day ~ clean and honour his icon, read from a book on St. Seraphim,

 do prayers for his intercession. 

Pray esp. for all those known whose name day it is.

January 16: Tenth Day of Christmas.

January 17: Eleventh Day of Christmas.

January 18: 12th Day of Christmas. Vigil for Theophany.

January 19: Theophany ~  Liturgy and Meal with friends.